A Night of Foreboding
by addicteduser
Summary: Being the host of the Oracle of Delphi's spirit does have its perks but what Rachel's experiencing tonight is not one of them. One-shot.


_**Plot summary**__: Being the host of the Oracle of Delphi's spirit does have its perks but what Rachel's experiencing tonight is not one of them._

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own these characters. They belong to awesome author Rick Riordan. I just based his material with figments of my imagination. No copyright infringement intended._

_**Reviews are very much appreciated! Enjoy and happy reading! :)**_

* * *

"_Lightning_."  
Glancing at her window, she saw the lightning pierce the dark sky in half.

"_Thunder_."  
She hears the thunder rumble across the distance, sounding as if sending some ominous warning.

Lying on her bed in her dorm room at the Clarion Ladies Academy, Rachel Elizabeth Dare focuses her gaze at the ceiling and closes her eyes. Don't get her wrong, being the host of the Oracle of Delphi's spirit does have its perks but what she's experiencing tonight is not one of them. As the new Oracle, she can see glimpses of the future and relay them through prophecies all while emanating green mist and having glowing green eyes and this freaky raspy voice. Not really a trait you typically see even in her demigod friends but they do help in scaring the Hades out of creepers and weirdos. Rachel massages her temples as she lets a brief headache pass. She rolls to her side and finally lets sleep claim her.

It was raining hard the next day. Rachel is in her class, admiring the irony of things, as she answers the quiz in her last class. Well, what do you know? The Pythagorean theorem was in problem two! Anyway, she can't wait to go home and spend the long weekend there despite the fact that her parents are in some other place. She's used to that. She won't even allow herself to be put down by those weird flashes of images. She doesn't fully remember them but they left her feeling hollow and dreadful. Nope, Rachel's got a hunch that tonight will have a fun surprise.

* * *

"Annabeth... Hey Annabeth, we're here."

From Percy's gentle touch and soft whispers of her name, Annabeth awoke and heard the pounding rain against the car's roof. They were parked near Rachel's place in Manhattan. Ever since school started, they haven't been able to hang out with her because Rachel is attending this big-shot, fancy private school in Connecticut (as per her deal with her dad), Percy is still in New York attending Goode, while Annabeth is at San Francisco. Percy and Annabeth still see each other frequently since she mostly spends her free time overseeing the reconstruction of Mount Olympus, hidden at the 600th floor of the Empire State Building. Rachel and Annabeth could talk over the phone but that would send monsters within the vicinity to attack Annabeth, and she does not want that. Iris messages are an option but she doesn't have that much golden drachmas to spare. Regardless, this was the perfect opportunity for the three of them to hang out.

"Annabeth, are you even sure that she's home? I mean, she might not even have reached Manhattan in this weather," asked Percy.

"This is Rachel who we're talking about, the one who went all the way to New York from some tropical paradise just to help defeat a hell-bent, vengeful Titan. Of course she's here. Plus, it's a long weekend. I know that she'd rather face the storm than stay for one more minute at her school."

"Fair point. All right, let's go!"

Percy turned off the engine, got out of the car, jogged over to her side, and opened the door for her. Sometimes Annabeth just can't contain her smile whenever Percy does acts like these. The couple reached the door and was about to knock when it suddenly opened. They were greeted by Rachel who flung herself to the two.

"Percy! Annabeth! I missed you guys so much!" said Rachel as she let's go of her hug. She turns her attention to Percy and jokingly added, "so Percy, what did you do to offend Zeus this time?" referring to the horrible weather that they are experiencing.

* * *

"So, what brings you to my humble abode?" asked Rachel.

"What brings us here? I assumed you already knew with the way you answered the door," replied Percy.

"Yeah, well knowing it already takes the fun out of things. What have you guys planned for our night of debauchery?"

"I don't know about debauchery but going outside is out of the question," says Percy with a glance to the window.

"No worries, we have a backup plan," says Annabeth.

"No surprises there," Rachel interjects with a grin.

"Ha ha, anyway, we bought movies and some food-"

"No drinks?"

"If by 'drinks' you mean alcohol, then no. Even if we did try to buy from the store, last time I checked, we're still underage."

"And here I thought that you always had a way to get what you want," Rachel says slyly. "Luckily, I have some booze stashed here somewhere," she adds as she gets up to retrieve a bottle and three glasses.

When Rachel returned, the movie was set up and the food was laid on the table. Percy stood up and declared, "Friends, let the weekend officially begin!"

* * *

The night passed by like a blur. They finished the movie and did some catching up after. Rachel shares her experiences at Clarion and mocks a few of the snobbish girls she met there. She also tells, with a mischievous tone, on how being the Oracle comes in handy for pop quizzes. At one point of the night, the girls team up and talk about topics that makes Percy uncomfortable. To which Percy replied by leaving the girls alone for a while because he says he needs to go to the bathroom and then get more food and drinks from the kitchen.

"So, how was your one-month anniversary? I want to know everything," Rachel asks giddily when Percy was out of earshot.

Annabeth recounts how Percy actually forgot about it but totally made up for it by striking a deal with Hermes after they fulfilled his quest. Basically, Percy took her out on a very romantic dinner, boat ride, and walk on Paris.

"I do so hope that it's me you two are talking about," says Percy as he enters the room, carrying a plate filled with food and a new bottle.

"As a matter of fact, we are talking about you. I can't wait to know how you would top that Paris date on your two-month anniversary! No pressure, Perce," replied Rachel with a devilish look.

"Riiigghhtt.. Change topic, please," says Percy as he downed a shot, clearly pressured. The girls just looked at each other, obviously enjoying Percy's unease.

* * *

It was getting pretty late, the three decided to have one last round of shots before hitting the sack.

"To not getting in any trouble before winter break!" toasted Percy.

"To not getting in any trouble before winter break!" agreed the other two.

As the glasses clinked, Rachel saw those images flash in her mind again, albeit briefly, very vividly.

_Separation. Loneliness. Darkness_. _Pain_. _Despair_. _Curses_. _Suffering_. _Death_.

"Rachel?" asks Percy, breaking Rachel from her stupor. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"What? Nothing. Nothing's wrong," Rachel replied, faking a smile. Percy seemed to buy it but Annabeth did not. Thankfully, she just let it slide. Rachel downed her shot, got up and said, "Alright you two, I don't know about you but I'm tired. I trust you guys completely but you never know." She says the last statement with a playful smile. "Annabeth, you can crash in my room. Percy, the couch is all yours."

"Fine by me," chuckles Percy. "Hey," he grabs Annabeth's hand, pulls her towards him, and lightly kisses her. "Goodnight," he says quietly, gazing into her stormy, gray eyes.

"Goodnight," Annabeth replies, just as affectionately.

Rachel tore her gaze away from the two, not wanting to wreck their moment. It pains her that she knows that her friends are about to face a force more dangerous than they have ever faced before. But what really hurts the most is what those two would endure and there is nothing that she could do about it. As in nothing. She obviously can't tell them, but she can't warn them either. No matter how hard she tries in calling forth the spirit of the Oracle of Delphi, she can't seem to make a prophecy out of the terrible fate that will befall on her two best friends.

"Are you sure you're alright?" asks Annabeth, breaking her again from her reverie. The concern is evident on her friend's face.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rachel lies. "I'm just tired. Come on, let's let Percy have his rest," she motions towards the hallway to her room and glances back at a dozing Percy on her sofa.

"Okay," replies Annabeth.

"So... '_goodnight_,' huh?" prompts Rachel as she lets Annabeth in her room.

"Don't even think about it," Annabeth retorts.

"Okay, okay," Rachel replied with a laugh as she closes the door.

Being the Oracle does have its perks but knowing what she just saw is not one of them. What's the point of being able to see the future if you can't prevent the terrible things that might occur? No. She knows her duty as the Oracle. She cannot mess with fate. No matter how much it's killing her inside, she knows that what she just saw must happen in order for the Great Prophecy to be fulfilled. For now, she will put on her best fake smile and act as if everything is alright.

* * *

_A few months later..._

Rachel is sitting at one of the benches at the Clarion Ladies Academy when her phone started ringing. Normally she would have just ignored the call and let it go to voicemail but the name on the screen got her attention.

_Annabeth_.

She knows something is seriously wrong for her demigod friend to risk using a cellphone to call her.

"Hello?" she answers her phone.

"_Rachel, have you had any contact with Percy recently_?" Rachel can clearly hear the worry masked in her friend's voice.

"No, why? Is something wrong? What happened?"

"_I don't know. It's been two days. No one has seen or heard anything from him. I just dropped by his mom's place. Sally said that the last she heard from him was when he left for camp. I just thought I'd check up with you to see of you know anything_."

"Alright, just stay calm and I'll see what I can find out. I'll head straight to camp tomorrow the moment classes end, okay?"

"_Okay_."

After hanging up, Rachel stared at her phone with contempt and apprehension.

"So, the Prophecy of Seven has begun," she said to no one in particular.

_**END**_.

* * *

**_Author's Notes:_**

_- I know some slight OOC has occurred. Most evidently at the part where they have drinks. I wrote that part to show that they do stuff that other teenagers do. Rick obviously can't write that because "Percy Jackson" is a children's book.  
__- I made a few references to past PJ titles, most notably from: __The Last Olympian ("Pythagorean problem" and "Rachel helping with the fight against Kronos"); __The Demigod Diaries ("Percy and Annabeth's one-month anniversary celebration in Paris"); __Some hints of the events in The Mark of Athena and The House of Hades  
__- Obviously this happened in between "Percy Jackson and the Olympians Book 5, The Last Olympian" and "The Heroes of Olympus Book 1, The Lost Hero"_

_**Again, reviews are very much appreciated! :D**_

_FF1.02.20-24.14_


End file.
